Cities are at the forefront of the transition towards carbon neutrality, translating international and national climate commitments onto concrete action on the ground. As places where energy use, mobility, buildings and economic activity concentrate, cities play a decisive role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating climate action. At the same time, the transition to carbon neutrality in cities can generate uneven impacts across households and neighbourhoods, making it essential to ensure that actions that drive this transition are socially fair and inclusive.
A just green transition refers to pathways towards carbon neutrality that explicitly consider distributional impacts, promote social inclusion and ensure that the costs, benefits and opportunities of decarbonisation are shared fairly. Cities are particularly well placed to advance this agenda. Local governments play a key role in implementing key policies such as building decarbonisation, urban greening and waste management, and as the level of government closest to citizens, are well positioned to identify and mitigate disproportionate impacts on vulnerable groups. This proximity allows cities to tailor climate policies to local contexts and engage residents directly in decision making. While climate governance spans multiple levels of government, cities have emerged as key arenas for experimenting with participatory approaches that can strengthen the legitimacy, effectiveness and fairness of climate policies.
This webinar explored the concept of a Just Green Transition in Cities with a specific focus on how cities embed citizen participation in their pathways towards carbon neutrality, and how participatory approaches can support the design, implementation and acceptance of local climate policies and investments.